In this edition of the reader story … “This is a chronological account of my investing journey since I started earning in 2017. I am not an expert investor. I have made mistakes, learned along the way, and slowly built discipline. I am sharing this in the hope that it helps early earners who are… The post From ₹3,000 SIPs to ₹1 Crore: My Investment Journey appeared first on freefincal.

                                                       The month of January 2026 is another month of dividend income landing in my accounts.  Due to becoming debt free, I changed my pay myself model. Starting the beginning of August 2021, I am paying myself 30%, just like before. This will now consist of 24% to investing, […]

Save, invest, prosper with My Own Advisor. Weekend Reading – Do you need bonds in retirement? Well hello! Welcome to some updated Weekend Reading about this subject: do you need bonds in retirement? (Thanks again to my readers and their email questions related to this subject.) Weekend Reading – Do you need bonds in retirement? This remains a great question and something… Join the million dollar portfolio journey. The article Weekend Reading – Do you […]

Nobody admits this part about building passive income out loud, so I will. Most people who want passive income aren’t lazy. They’re exhausted. They’re mentally juggling daycare costs, groceries that somehow doubled, and a job that pays fine but somehow never feels like enough. They don’t want to be rich-rich. They want room to breathe. And when you’re in that place, most passive income advice sounds… detached from reality. “Just invest.”“Just start a business.”“You just […]

The Short Version: The difference of approach between a seasoned investor vs a novice Why we’re psychologically wired to focus on upside and ignore risk. It’s why so many investors get burned by deals that looked great on paper. The 2008 crash and the 2022 syndication blowups had the same root cause: people optimizing for returns without stress-testing the downside. Avoiding catastrophic losses matters more than chasing big wins. The math is unforgiving — a 50% loss requires a 100% gain just to break even. There’s a line from Keith Cunningham’s “The Road Less Stupid” that changed how I think about investing: “Novice investors ask how much can I make on a given deal. Seasoned investors ask how much could I lose.” It sounds simple and almost obvious. But the more I’ve invested, the more I’ve realized how rare it is for people to actually internalize this. Most investors lead with upside. They see a projected 18% return and start calculating how much they’ll make. They get excited by imagining the best case scenario. Seasoned investors do the opposite. They assume things will go wrong. How much of my capital is at risk? What’s the worst realistic outcome? Can I survive it? This single shift in thinking is the difference between building long-term wealth and blowing yourself up. Why We’re Wired to Ask the Wrong Question It’s not entirely your fault if you focus on returns first. Our brains are wired for it. Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, spent decades studying how humans make decisions under uncertainty. One of his core findings: we consistently overweight potential gains and underweight potential losses. It’s called optimism bias, and it’s baked into our psychology. When someone shows you an investment with a 15% projected return, your brain lights up. You start imagining what that money could do for you. The risk section of the pitch deck? You skim it. You assume it won’t happen to you. This is why casinos stay in business. It’s why people buy lottery tickets. And it’s why so many investors get burned by deals that looked great on paper. The antidote is discipline. Training yourself to ask the hard question first, before the excitement takes over. What Happens When You Don’t Ask I learned this lesson the hard way. Back in the mid-2000s, I was buying rental properties like everyone else. The market was ripping. Prices kept going up. I was overleveraged and convinced I was a genius. I never seriously asked what would happen if the market turned. I didn’t stress-test my portfolio against a downturn. I assumed the good times would keep rolling. Then 2008 happened. I had negative cash flow, properties underwater, and no cushion. I wasn’t alone. Millions of investors got wiped out because they’d asked “how much can I make?” without ever asking “how much could I lose?” It took years to recover. And the tuition was expensive. But the lesson stuck. The

Kids are a pain. One minute you’re funding their entire lifestyle. The next minute they’re off to university or buying their first flat – and you’re still funding their entire lifestyle. But perhaps you want to do even more for the young people in your life? Maybe you want to help give your little ones (another) leg up? Maybe your genes are forcing your hand! You’re not alone. Almost £10bn has been socked away in Junior […]

Here’s my monthly survey of the best interest rates on cash as of February 2026, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Banks and brokerages love taking advantage of idle cash, and you can often earn more interest while keeping the same level of safety by moving to another FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are […]

I had always dreamed of working for myself and making passive income from home, but it took years of toiling until I finally figured it out. Then, on a whim, I decided to learn how to sell digital products on Etsy. Now, I’ve made over $500,000 in passive income from home. Here are my 5 tips for getting started making passive income from home with very little money. 1. Start with one passive income source […]